11 Septtembber 2008 week 37 Football 24/7 Jean-Phillipe Doux on the launch of Girondins TV United Kingdom Russia FremantleMedia acquires 10th anniversary of Ren TV’s stake in Beyond International news programme 24 France Belgium M6 presents the 2008/09 RTLinfo.be – a website in the TV season lead COVER: Jean-Phillipe Doux, President of the new channel Girondins TV otball 24/7 2 week 37 the RTL Group intranet Football 24/7 Since 14 August, fans of the French football club Girondins de Bordeaux are able to watch and find out all there is to know about the five times French league champions. France - 11 September 2008 The launch of the new Girondins TV channel, Regarding the programmes, there is plenty to devoted to the five times French league cham- watch. JT 33 is a daily 10 minute news pro- pions, Girondins de Bordeaux, will delight all gramme with all the latest about the Club and its football supporters. They are now able to future opponents. The 50 minute talk-show, access the latest information and news about Mag 33, from Tuesday to Friday after the trai- the Girondins 24 hours a day, seven days a ning sessions, is hosted by Jean Philippe Doux week. The channel offers pre-recorded matches with a guest to discuss and comment on the during the season, the reserve team games, the Club, player news and football in general. Ma latest from the training sessions and a daily talk tribune 33, focussing on the supporters and show all about the club. With this development their souvenirs and Cordon bleu marine offering Girondins de Bordeaux follows other football cookery classes in the company of one of the clubs in France, like Marseille, Lyon, St. Etienne players are just two of the other programmes on or Lens. offer. Developed by the club and managed by Jean- Jean-Phillipe Doux, President of the new TV Philippe Doux, the TV channel is installed in the channel, gave an exclusive interview to very heart of the Club Girondins des Bordeaux, Backstage. at the Château du Haillan. Jean-Philippe Doux notes: “Girondins TV is a creative and very well What is the main purpose of the channel informed proximity TV channel. It is the channel Girondins TV? for football supporters in general and Bordeaux Our purpose is to enable the supporters of the fans in particular”. Chief Executive of the Club club and all other football enthusiasts to watch des Girondins, Alain Deveseleer, adds: everything and know everything about the “Girondins TV provides a 360° view of the Club Girondins de Bordeaux. We’d like to be the eyes and its challenges. With Girondins TV, we are and ears for those who are unable to watch the going even further in providing Club news and matches, who want to view them a second time, enabling the Club to communicate on a new and who want to know more about the players level”. in their everyday lives. The channel is targeted at young male viewers, What do you expect from the launch of a amateur football players and, of course, mainly channel like Girondins TV? at supporters of Girondins de Bordeaux. We hope that it will allow the biggest exposure Girondins TV is available on Orange TV broad- possible of the exploits of Bordeaux, and that it band and financed by distribution agreements will provide to supporters all the analyses and (currently Orange and Numericable). M6 all the elements to understand and appreciate Publicité has just launched the first advertising what they see on the playing field. It is indeed a and sponsoring offers. The football club des way of enhancing their enjoyment which without Girondins de Bordeaux is a 100 per cent subsi- Girondins TV lasts only 90 minutes a week. It diary of the Groupe M6. will in fact also give greater visibility to the spon- sors of the club. 3 week 37 the RTL Group intranet What’s special in producing a thematic can also rely on the strong support and the channel? What are the difficulties? expertise of the technical services of M6. It was As its name implies, a thematic channel, is dedi- with them that we set up the studio and acqui- cated to and explores one single theme, in this red the production and broadcasting means case, the Girondins de Bordeaux. The editorial within record time this summer. The advertising line is thus obvious and clearly drawn. As foot- sales are handled by M6 Publicité. The very fact ball and this club are very popular in France, we that I’m at the helm of this channel is directly the can follow along this line while being close to result of the synergies between the club and our viewers and able to meet their expectations. C Productions, my employer. Finally, there is a Football is a unifying sport, which allows us to very strong local synergy with the club’s servi- Jean-Louis Triaud (President of the Girondins de Bordeaux), Jean-Phillipe Doux and Laurent Blanc (Coach) be thematic without taking thematic segmenta- ces, such as its financial management, its tech- tion too far. We also think of those who are not nical and commercial services, its Internet site. true hardline supporters, and who need more background information, or who appreciate to Currently Girondins TV can be received via learn more about the other passions of the Orange TV and ADSL. Do you intend to players in addition to their achievements on the launch the channel also on other platforms pitch. (DTT, cable, satellite)? We are in fact conducting negotiations with Are there any synergies between Girondins other operators to enhance our visibility. Let’s TV and the other channels of Groupe M6? see what will come out of these talks. The problem with a channel like ours is to be close to the team without being intrusive. We What were the initial reactions of the audien- cannot have 30 people around 25 players. ce? Thanks to the synergies within Groupe M6, They were rather positive. I am very attentive to there are only five of us in our studio in the trai- the reactions of supporters on internet forums ning center of Haillan. The programmes not and, for the time being, they seem to be deligh- directly dealing with the training sessions or the ted with the channel and pleasantly surprised premier team are coproduced by the local edi- by the quality of our initial programmes. As torial staff of M6 Bordeaux, and broadcasting of Girondins TV belongs to the M6 audiovisual Girondins TV is done from the master control media group, it had to fully comply with the qua- room of the group’s thematic channels at lity criteria set for the thematic channels of the Neuilly-sur-Seine. Furthermore, we exchange group. Right from the beginning. reports with the other editorial departments. We 4 week 37 the RTL Group intranet FremantleMedia acquires stake in Australia’s Beyond International FremantleMedia, one of the largest creators and producers of entertainment brands in the world, announces the acquisition of a 19.99 per cent equity stake in Beyond International, one of Australia’s leading television and film producers. Mythbusters United Kingdom - 10 September 2008 From its base in Australia, Beyond has built up a substantial business in North America, its major market, and is currently opening a televi- sion development and production office in Los Angeles. Headed by Mikael Borglund, Managing Director, the company has had numerous global successes in both entertain- ment and drama. Beyond’s major television productions include What’s Good For You, Beyond Tomorrow, Mythbusters, Stingers, Halifax fp, Hot Property/Auctions, Beyond 2000, Sex/Life, Wildlife with Olivia Newton John, and the acclaimed mini series Day of the Roses. The company has also been involved in the international success of feature films such as Strictly Ballroom, A Good Woman, Chopper and Lantana. Christian Schneider-Sickert, Director of Operations and Strategy, FremantleMedia, said: “The US and Australia are of crucial importance for FremantleMedia, and Beyond has great strengths in both markets. We announced last year that we were looking to make a series of growth-oriented investments, and Beyond is part of that strategy.” 5 week 37 the RTL Group intranet Take life easy with M6 The Chairman of the Management Board of Groupe M6 Nicolas de Tavernost presented the new programme schedule for the forthcoming season last week, with an emphasis on lifestyle, entertainment and spectacle. What has really set tongues wagging, though, are the ambitious plans for a bona-fide news programme to replace the current presenter-less Six Minutes show. France - 8 September 2008 As is usually the way with these things, myste- ry surrounding the programme’s format (pre- senter’s identity and broadcast time) is spar- king media curiosity and the wildest of specu- lation. That said, Nicolas de Tavernost and Thomas Valentin, Vice-Chairman of the Groupe M6 Management Board in charge of Networks and Content, did give away a few clues at their recent press conference. Firstly, we know that there will definitely be a news programme and that it will be launched “as early as possible in the season”. The exact time slot has not yet been revealed, as this will be a strategic decision based on a number of factors. Amongst these is the fact that adverti- sing is to be scrapped on public channels in Nicolas de Tavernost France after 20:00 from the start of next year. fewer than 16 new launches - programmes that As a logical consequence, prime time program- will bring well-being and serenity to M6 vie- mes will be brought forward from 20:50 to wers.